Simpson says Republicans removed student IDs without citing fraud
Alexis SimpsonNew Hampshire House Democratic leader
Simpson says Republicans removed student IDs as an identification option without pointing to a single case of fraud.
“For over ten years, young Granite Staters have been able to use a student ID to prove their identity when casting their ballots. Without a single case of fraud to point to, Republicans took that option away.”
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
New Hampshire asks the Supreme Court to pause the student-ID ruling; challengers oppose the exclusion
New Hampshire asks the Supreme Court to pause an injunction allowing election officials to consider student IDs with other evidence of identity. The Coalition for Open Democracy, which brought the lawsuit, and its lawyers defend the injunction and continue challenging HB 323, the separate law removing student IDs from the list of accepted IDs.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Zach Laird's original InDepthNH report, later distributed through AP, quotes the plaintiff's counsel, an HB 323 cosponsor and the House Democratic leader two days after the lawsuit was filed. Their claims about fraud, security and legality are attributed arguments.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
InDepthNH reporting distributed through AP quotes a bill sponsor, the House Democratic leader and litigation counsel. Their allegations about fraud and legality are attributed arguments.
Before the quotation
HB 323 removed student IDs as an accepted way to obtain a ballot. The lawsuit also challenges Scanlan's directive extending the restriction to voter registration.
After the quotation
Simpson argues that young adults should have a say in decisions affecting their lives.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the state's categorical exclusion of student IDs from consideration under existing identity-verification safeguards, which Secretary of State David Scanlan's April 23 directive set out. Simpson says that "Without a single case of fraud to point to, Republicans took that option away", criticizing the removal of student IDs as a way to prove identity at the polls. The exclusion is the broadest form of that removal, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, since Simpson disputes the fraud rationale; it loses because the statement criticizes the removal itself.
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More from this case
Read the full caseTentarelli supports considering student IDs with other evidence
“We at the League of Women Voters New Hampshire think this is a good ruling that student IDs should be considered in spite of the law passed last spring. ... It’s upsetting that this bill passed last spring ... But when it got extended by the Secretary of State to include voter registration, that was an assumption that was not spelled out in the bill”Read statement
Garrity defends the emergency stay request on student IDs
“The State has asked the United States Supreme Court for an emergency stay in this matter. New Hampshire has a strong interest in ensuring that its election laws are applied consistently and that local election officials have clear, workable guidance in administering elections”Read statement
Scanlan and Formella ask the Supreme Court to pause the student-ID injunction
“the district court premised relief on an incorrect interpretation of New Hampshire law. But even if the merits were “not entirely clearcut,” the Purcell principle overwhelmingly supports a stay of the district court’s order. ... This Court should stay the district court’s orders pending proceedings in the court of appeals and in this Court.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Simpson says Republicans removed student IDs without citing fraud". First published: 2026-10-18. Last updated: 2026-10-18. https://disputeindex.com/events/5935-simpson-says-republicans-removed-student-ids-as-an